Hello, I am very much interested in buying a Phillips 40PFL5507H television. After the summer, Philips changed the screen panels for the 40PFL5507. Due to high demand newly manufactured TV's did not have the original Sharp UV2A panel anymore; this was replaced by the Samsung PVA panel. I do want the original Sharp UV2A panel and not the Samsung PVA panel.

I would like to know how i can identify which panel i am dealing with in the shop, or at home after i bought it online - without opening up the TV as this would void any warranty. I want the UV2A panel because the new PVA panel is not worth the price of this television.

Now i did some research and found out that the code for the UV2A panel is LK400D3LC, for which the identifying number seems to be 400, and the code for the PVA panel is LTA400HV for which the number seems to be 396. Often the sticker that has this code on it will have been removed and I do not know if these numbers are correct. Can anyone confirm this?

Is there any way to identify which panel i have without opening the TV, when i can't compare the two different versions? Production dates, codes, registration numbers (maybe you can tell me up until which production week the UV2A panels were used, since the production week should be in the serial number)..?

Or is it possible to look at the pixels with a magnifying glass and see which panel i am dealing with?

l00pu5

10-23-2012, 01:16 PM

Unfortunately, the difference in picture quality is evident; the Sharp UV2A panel performs better than the Samsung PVA panel.

How did you establish that?
If you haven't bought the TV set yet and don't know how to determine the panel type that's being used, I'm really curious where the difference in performance is "evident".

Relying on some tech reviews without having seen the set yet, eh?

Blackice012

10-23-2012, 01:35 PM

Not just 'some' tech reviews, a very well known in-depth reviewer at
http://www.digitalversus.com/tv-television/philips-40pfl5507h-p12906/test.html

Just look at the clouding for the PVA panel, which is unacceptable for this unit. And the contrast ratio went down from over 5000:1 on the UV2A to over 3000:1 for the PVA.

l00pu5

10-23-2012, 03:30 PM

Well...
To be honest, I've read this review before and I literally KNEW that your post was based on this.

Just some questions:
(1) would you be able to tell the difference between the panels' NATIVE contrast ratio?
(2) would you see the clouding in normal viewing conditions?

I mean, the review was basically based on lab conditions, so all those differences can be measured, but will you actually see them in the end?

By the way: I have one of the sets that's equipped with the PVA panel and I'm absolutely happy with it. Digitalversus must've gotten a bad unit since mine is performing just fine in terms of clouding / light leakage / flashlight effect / whatever.

And here you are, having read this review, assuming that these results are generic. Don't get me wrong here: I don't wanna be offensive, I just think that this isn't the most ideal approach.

Blackice012

10-23-2012, 04:09 PM

Well the review is pretty negative about it, this TV was on my wish list because of the good reviews and now i find out the rating has been lowered by 40%.

I like to find out a lot about the stuff i buy so i get the most for my money. I recently bought a great LG IPS computer monitor that was cheap and has amazing picture quality. Now they are hard to find because they were a little too good for the price. These are the kind of items i want to buy.

And the clouding really looks bad, you don't notice this when viewing in the dark? The contrast would not be such a big problem and maybe i wouldn't even notice it.
And your 'results' are based on your own perception and experience while the digitalversus review is mostly based on pure measurements. I would have to read a lot more of these 'user experience' reviews to know if the TV is still good. For the measurements 1 good test review is all you need.

I will still have to get to a few shops to take a looksie myself. But still, if i can only get the PVA panel now i might as well look for other TV's in the same price range, because with the UV2A panel this one really stood out.

So i would still be happier with a UV2A panel thus my question on how to find it out still stands. Even if it's just to know what i'm buying. Most shops don't let you turn off all the lights to look at the clouding. And since i can't compare it i might make the wrong conclusion.